Television news coverage … advertising … even the Microsoft Word “Help” files. All offer information to the public. The question is, “are we experiencing information overload and what impact does this have on us?”
Information overload is a situation experienced by people who receive too much information or misappropriate information to make an intelligent, informed decision. Just imagine a pilot who relies on transmissions from an airport control tower and must make split decisions based on that information with many passengers’ lives on the line. A schoolteacher recognizes that he/she can only provide so much instruction at a proper pace to students for effective learning. Employers presenting new hires with a doorstop-thick company orientation manual may easily intimidate those employees.
There is little escape for the television-viewing public when news anchors report on the world’s problems … the only recourse, should one not care to watch, is to turn the television off or change the channel. But, news often airs at the same time, so channel-flipping can prove to be fruitless. One will just hear the same story, often with the same footage and the same quotes from the same subject matter experts.
Advertising begs for our attention wherever we look. Billboards, full-page newspaper ads and hot air balloons prominently displaying company logos all ask us to buy a product or service. Just recently, I spotted a large electronic billboard, placed at a busy local intersection, which regularly flashed advertising messages in bright neon lights. Is this safe or a deadly driver distraction?
And, if you have ever tried to find some guidance through the Microsoft Word “Help” files, you know full-well that you can get easily get lost in far too much misinformation and never have your question fully or properly answered.
Information, and excessive information, pouring in from all angles can easily lead to human stress. We must learn to quickly filter fact from fiction. Like a kitchen blender, our human brains can take in and process a great deal; however, there are limits. Slow down on the news broadcasts, the advertising and the Microsoft Word “Help” files and the public will be far happier. And just where is the radar on the Internet – the world’s “information superhighway”?
article by Rick Lauber is a published freelance writer whose work has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines. When not writing, Rick enjoys visiting his favourite second-hand CD stores, taking long walks and playing pool. rlauber@canada.com.
